Toronto Employment Rates Stay Steady
31 October 2023
JobsTO Labour Lowdown. September 2023
While Toronto CMA’s employment rate marginally improved in September there was a slight decline in both the employment and participation rates. Employment increased among core-aged (25 to 54 years) women and men while little changed for youth aged 15 to 24 and people aged 55 and older.
Average hourly wages in Toronto continues to show strength as workers and businesses struggle with inflationary demands.
Other economic signals suggest a potential future slowing of the economy in both Toronto and the province as a whole. The job vacancy rate for the city declined by 1.5% over the three months. The slight slowing of demand is also reflected in TWIG’s job posting data. The number of job postings in September was down by almost 5,000 ads while the number of employers advertising for workers declined by almost 1,000. The good news about slowing demands for workers, is that it is an indicator that the economy is cooling which will reduce inflationary pressures.
The Wholesale and Retail Sector in Toronto continues to show impressive job growth on a year-over-year basis. This runs counter to the rest of the Canadian economy which actually lost employment over the same time period. The hospitality, health care, and education sectors are seeing some marginal growth while employment in manufacturing and construction actually shrank.
JobsTo data further indicates the overall decline in vacancies across almost every industry sector in Toronto in September.
Other Labour Market and Economic News:
GTA Housing Market Cools: The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) keeps publicly available monthly sales statistics for Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area dating back to 1996, and last month’s sales total was the lowest for the month of September seen in 25 years. TRREB reported just 4,642 sales last month in the GTA. The last time total sales across Toronto and the GTA were lower than that in September was in 1998 when the monthly sales total came in at 4,492.
London Ontario Tries to Lure Torontonians: The London Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) launched its “Don’t Tell Toronto” marketing campaign in February 2021, pitching shorter commutes, more affordable housing and jobs. Since putting up the billboards last month, LEDC claims that than 5,000 Torontonians have shown interest in moving to the Forest City.
Expanding Business. Sage (leader in accounting software) announced an expansion of its Toronto’s operations as it increasingly grabs market share. Meanwhile, Canadian-made mattress company Endy, which since its launch in 2015 has developed its brand as an online retailer, is now moving into traditional retail space with the launch of its first retail store at CF Sherway Gardens in Toronto in early November.
For more information, please see our Jobs TO Data.
